by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville coach Rick Pitino called Mike Rice's abusive actions - throwing balls and directing homophobic slurs at his players - "very disturbing," saying he had seen the video footage that aired on ESPN's Outside the Lines yesterday and led to the Rutgers coach's firing on Wednesday morning.

As the NCAA gears up to celebrate its 75th anniversary of the Final Four this weekend, Rice's actions abusing players have stole the spotlight.

"I don't know what brought that out in a person," Pitino said in an interview with ESPN. "I hope he gets those issues taken care of."

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall, when asked about Rice on an interview with ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning, said he had not seen the footage.

"It's unfortunate, I hate it for Mike, I hate it for Rutgers University, I hate it for those players," Marshall said.

Both Pitino and Marshall are two fiery coaches known for showing emotions during games and practices. But both coaches made it clear that Rice's actions crossed the line.

"We certainly coach our guys hard and tell them the truth. We try not to cross the line, we try not to disrespect them, especially in a public forum. ... It's just a different era we live in, with all the technology, all the social media.

In the end, you have to coach kids hard, and there has to be some line. ... If you can teach them about authority and discipline and things like that, they'll respect you in the end."